Every O Has His Day

Sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due. That was the case when the Yankees lost for just their second time in12 meetings with the Baltimore Orioles.

Following the game plan that seems to be etched in stone for decades, the Yankees struggled with a rookie pitcher. Jake Arrieta, making his major league debut, limited the Yankees to four hits over six innings and settled down after he allowed three over the 2nd and 3rd innings. The Orioles' bullpen also had a rare solid outing with closer of the day David Hernandez notching his first big league save.

A.J. Burnett was handed a 3-2 lead and seemed to be in a groove after allowing a pair of runs in the 1st inning. But he surrendered Scott Moore's first home run of the year in the 5th to tie it and gave up a pair of one out rockets an inning later to give Baltimore the lead for good.

Luke Scott ripped a shot to right that appeared would be caught by a leaping Nick Swisher, but the Yankees right fielder seemingly mistimed his jump and Scott had himself a triple. Adam Jones followed with a gapper to right-center for a double and a 4-3 Orioles lead.

Robinson Cano's streak of nine straight multi-hit games at Camden Yards came to an end, but he did reach on a one out double in the 2nd inning. Two batters later Curtis Granderson plated him with a triple in the right field corner.

An inning later the Yankees took the lead when Chad Moeller reached on a lead off walk and scored on Derek Jeter's double. Jeter moved to third base on the play and scored on Nick Swisher's sac fly to give the Yankees their only lead of the game, 3-2.

Notes

Alex Rodriguez left the game after just a half inning of play due to stiffness in his groin. He barely moved on an RBI hit by Jones in the bottom of the 1st and was lifted for pinch-hitter Ramiro Pena in the top of the 2nd. For now he's day-to-day, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him sit out a couple of games against the Houston Astros this weekend.

Jorge Posada's catching sessions have gotten more intense, but there's still no word as to when he'll return to the position in a game.

photo courtesy of Syracuse.com